Introduction

March
31, 2011 – April 2, 2011 are dates for the 9th Annual 168 Film Festival in
San Fernando and Glendale California. You can purchase tickets to the
festival or for more information visit
www.168project.com. The festival in 2010 highlighted over 80 films from
6 countries. The film festival and the films produced for the competition
are from new film producers as well as veterans in the business. The 168
film project is more than showing films; it inspires faith-based films and
draws new filmmakers to explore God’s Word.

The concept

The 168 film project is the competition part of the process. Here a
filmmaking team is required to produce an up to 11 minute short film based
on a randomly drawn Scripture in 168 hours (1 week). Each year the project
is based on a theme, this year’s theme is "Second Chances". Each team is
responsible for raising the funds to shoot their film. They are in charge of
the shooting location, cast, crew, script, etc. Once each team has their
assigned Scripture they are given a time they are able to start filming and
then have only 168 hours before the finished film must be submitted for
judging. The judges, or The Jury as 168 calls them, are a group of
professional producers, writers, and directors from the industry. The 2011
Jury consists of Christina Lee Storm (producer To Save a Life), Luke Schelhass (writer/producer Law and Order,
Touched by an Angel), Ralph Winter
(producer X-Men: Wolverine), Howard Kazanjian (producer Raiders of the Lost
Ark, Star Wars: Episode IV – Return of the Jedi), and more.
There are many different award categories such as Scriptural Integration,
Actress/Actor, Animation, Production Design, Cinematography, and many more.
168 Film Festival to be held March 31 – April 2 is the finale where awards
are presented and all the finished films are shown to audiences at two
theaters in California. The 168 Film Project is growing every year and
helping many upcoming Christian filmmakers gain experience and exposure.

He's 13!

About the author

Dana Chaffin is a Christian freelance writer who
has published many articles on sites like: faithwriters.com,
christianmediaalliance.com, and extantmagazine.com. Passionate about
Christian film, her desire is to get the word out about Christian movies
to as many people as possible. More...

Rich Deem, editor

One of the films to premiere at the 2011 festival is He’s 13! a short film
produced by Susan Shearer for this competition. This is the third year for
her to compete in the 168 Film Project. The Scripture selected for this film
was Luke 19:5-9 about Zacchaeus the short but wealthy tax collector. He’s
13! is the story of a 13 year old boy who produces a zombie film with his
friends for You Tube. It gets lots of views and the attention of a Hollywood
studio. He is hired to direct a movie based on his zombie film and offered
$30 million. The fame, toys, and money go to his head. Away from friends and
family, he withdrawals from talking and only texts on his new expensive
phone. Will he see that relationships are more important than money and
fame? When asked about her main source of inspiration Susan says "First and
foremost I wanted to honor God with our project. I truly believe God was in
the mix and our inspiration and creativity are gifts from Him". Shearer says
"When it’s all said and done, we’re not competing against each other, it’s
about creating movies that can impact people for Christ. It’s a wonderful,
supportive community. Many of us pray for each other regardless of whose
team we’re on." To find out more about He’s 13! you can visit
www.hes13.com or follow them on
Facebook
– He’s 13! Movie. If you are interested in helping financially with this and
other films by Susan Shearer you can make tax deductible donation to their
non-profit at The Robert Lee Rush Foundation, c/o I’m Not a Turkey
Productions, 5757 Franklin Ave., Suite 107, Hollywood, CA 90028.

Conclusion

If you are interested in doing something different this weekend, attend the
9th Annual 168 Film Festival in San Fernando and Glendale California.
Tickets are available at
www.168project.com.